The 1929 Seth Thomas clock inside the courthouse’s bell tower. An expert involved in its restoration fixed what needed fixing. But certain gears were oddly pristine: "It was like the day they rolled out of the factory," he said. "They still had their finish. There was no wear on their teeth."

Rodney Baker, left, a docent at the courthouse, checks his atomic clock as the new bells sound. Mostyn Gale, right, is an electrical engineer who had become so fascinated by the courthouse clock that "as kind of a lark" he got permission to maintain it.